29 March 2008

New stadium project presented to the Turin Council

This is an important day for Juventus' new ground. The preliminary project was indeed presented to the Turin Council, at a meeting between IFIL and FIAT vice-president John Elkann, Juventus M.D. Jean–Claude Blanc, Juventus Chairman Giovanni Cobolli Gigli and Sergio Chiamparino, the mayor of Turin, who expressed his satisfaction about the plan described: «Juventus have chosen an extensive restoration that will make the Delle Alpi a modern temple of football. It'll be ready by 2011, the 150th anniversary of Italy reaching unification; this will help make Turin a role model for our entire country».

Indeed construction work should begin in spring 2009, and end in spring 2011, so that the new facility can be tested with a few friendlies before the official 2011/2012 season fixtures. It'll have 40,000 seats, arranged so that everybody will be able to enjoy the games in the best possible way, as stressed by Jean–Claude Blanc: «In today's Delle Alpi the nearest seat is 28 metres away from the pitch. In the new stadium, this will be the farthest distance, whereas the closest seats will be less than 9 metres from the pitch. A stadium like this will be a great chance for the Club to generate more income, to be invested in the team. Therefore this project, despite the great cost, will not damage the team in sporting terms, in fact in time it'll make it even stronger».

«I'm proud both as a fan and as a citizen of Turin – John Elkann concluded – that it was possible to get to this point, the presentation of this project, thanks to the great work carried out by the Club in obtaining financing. At last Juventus will have their own home».